Fruit-evaporator



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 S. A. LA'T-IMER. FRUIT EVAPORATOR. No.462,144. Patented 0ct.'27, 1891.

. Fl G x (No Model.-\ 2 Shee tS Sheet 2. s. A. LATIMER. FRUITEVAPORATOR.

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PATENT SAMUEL ANDREIV LATIMER, OF LONG LANE, MISSOURI.

FRU lT-EVAPO RATO R.

SHECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 462,144, dated October27, 1891.

Application filed December 8, 1890. Serial No. 373,935. (No model.)

To rtZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL ANDREW LATI- MER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Long Lane, in the county of Dallas and State ofMissouri, have invented a new and useful Fruit-Evaporator, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to fruit-evaporators; and the object of the sameis to provide a device of this character wherein the fruit-holding traysare inserted at one end, passed gradually through the device, and takenout at the other end, during all of which time they are subj ectcd toregulated degrees of heat.

To this end the invention consists of devices for permitting thismovement of the trays, as well as of the detailed construction of parts,all as hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and as illustratedon the two sheets of drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a perspective viewof this device complete. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinalsection,omitting the extension. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on theline 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. l is a horizontal section on the line at 4 ofFig. 2, showing the lowering devices, and also showingaplan view of theraising-frame. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of the roof membersupported by an extension and showing one tray in the act of being movedlongitudinally in the device. Fig. 6 is an upper side perspective, andFig. 7 a lower side perspeetive of a tray, in its preferred form. Fig. 8is a side elevation of a tray with a spacingbar attached, and Fig. 9 isa perspective detail of one of the spacing-bars.

Referring to the said drawings, the letter B designates the body of thisdevice, which is supported by legs L at a suitable distance from theground, and S is a stove or other heating device arranged beneath thebody and delivering hot air into the same atabout the center of itslength.

The letter R designates the roof member, which is of about theconstruction shown in Fig. 1 and has exit-openings Ofor the hot airrising from the stove, and this roof member is detachably supported bythe body member 13 or by an extension member E, which is of the samerectangular shape and dimensions of the body B and is for use when itisdesired to make the device larger.

The body B is provided with an inlet-door I at its front end and anexit-door X at its rear end, near the bottom. In plan the body isrectangular in shape, being somewhat longer than twice its width, andisdivided by a central vertical partition 0, below which is the maindamper M, standing above the inlet-tube from the stove, and. by means ofwhich tllehot air can be passed into one half, the other half, or bothhalves of the body, as seen in Fig. 2 and as will be readily understood.

XVithin the bodyli are eight vertical posts P, arranged at the fourcorners of each of the halves of the body, which posts are longer incross-section than they are broad, so that the distance longitudinallyof the device between two posts in onehalf the body will be equal to thedistance transversely of the body between the sides of the body. Thefour end posts are cut away, as at A, above the doors above mentioned,and upon the floor of the body are secured side tracks T, which extendfrom the ends of the body inwardly along the sides thereof beneath thecut-away por- .tions A to the central posts P.

The extension member E is simply a rect angular body open at top andbottomand having a central partition 0' and extensionposts P standingabove and in alignment with the above-mentioned posts P. The roof memberR is another rectangular body open at its bottom and closed at the top,except where the above-mentioned openings 0 occur, and it has fourcorner-posts P resting on the corner-posts in the body member, or in theextension member, if it be used. Above the four inner posts, at eachside of the roof member, is a rider-block R, whose upper edge risestoward the rear end of the device to prevent the trays striking againstthe trays in the rear half of the body while the trays are being movedrearwardly. Extending longitudinally of the roof member is a ridge-poleR upon which slides a shifter S,having fingers F depending from itsfront end at each side of the ridge pole. Connected to this shifter arecords or wire ropes WV, extending through holes in the ends of the roofover pulleys U and having a weight W at the front end and a handle WV?at the rear end, also for a purpose to appear hereinafter.

The letters T designate square trays constructed preferably as shown inFigs. 6 and 7that is to say, there are three cross-bars 25, connected bya single central cross-bar t at right angles thereto, and two side barst are secured upon the upper sides of the crossbars t at their ends.Upon the several crossbars is placed a wire gauze or netting 40, whichis secured to the end cross-barst by strips 10', which are held in placeby nails or screws. These trays are of a size to pass through the doorsI and X and to move vertically in the square openings between four endposts and the sides of the members.

The raisin g-frame consists of plates D, moving between cleats D on thesides of the body 13, and connected with each other by rods D whichextend through vertical slots D in the sides of the body in the fronthalf thereof and normally rest in notches D in the tracks T. Risingfromthe plates D are cords or wire ropes d, which pass over pulleys d in thesides of the body and lead to a crankshaft d ,journaled across the frontof the device, and when this crank-shaft is rotated the raising-framewill be elevated, as will be understood. lVithin the body and pivoted tothe posts P are catches d normally supported in horizontal position byPins (1 so that their free ends will extend inwardly beyond the posts. Atray T being inserted through the front doorI and moved rearwardly onthe tracks T over the notches D wherein rest the rods D the crank-shaftd is rotated and the raising-frame begins to ascend. The rods D strikebeneath and raise the tray, and the latter strikes beneath and raisesthe catches nd continues upwardly. The catches d dropping to theirhorizontal position onto the pins d when the raising-frame descends,

the tray is held suspended upon the catches' The next tray that israised in a similar manner will operate in substantially the same- Way,except that the tray already inserted will be raised upon theone inquestion.

The lowering devices consist of rollers G, jonrnaled at their ends andat their centers in bearings in laterally-exending boxes B on the sidesof the body at the rear end thereof. Through these rollers are passedpins G, ar-

ranged in pairs, which are at right angles to v each other and slightlyspacedlongitudinally of the rollers, as shown, the pins extending intothe square openings between the four posts and the sides of the body B.Sliding longitudinally in guides g above the boxes B are rods 9', whichare connected across the rear end'of this body by a handle g anddepending from the rods g are plates G whose sides taper to their lowerends, which are narrow but fiat. Several trays resting upon the pins Gand it being desired to remove one from the exit-door X, the handle 9 ismoved so that the plates G will be moved. Such movement of the platescarries their lower ends from above the outer ends of the pins G,which'th'en stand horizontal to points over those which are vertical,and as soon as this occurs the weightof the several trays causes torollers G to make a quarter-revolution and one'tray is dropped ontothose which stand on the tracks T, and the lowermost of the pile may beremoved through the exit-door at the operators convenience.

As the trays are inserted in the front of the device and raised in themanner above described, after a series of them has been piled up in thefront end ofthe device it becomes desirable to provide means for movingthem rearwardly, so as to permit them to be lowered at the rear end ofthe device. Such means comprises the shifter S, having the de pendingfingers F, By drawing upon the cord W the shifter is slid rearwardly onthe ridgepole R as above described. The depending fingers F bear againstthe front cross-bar t of the top of the uppermost tray T and slide it onthe tray next below over the rider-blocks R and onto the uppermost trayat the rear end of the device against the rear roof-posts P WVhen thehandle W is released, the weight at the front end of the rope W returnsthe shifter to its original position, and another tray T as it is raisedis brought into engagement with the fingers F. The handle 9 must beoperated to lower the trays in the descending pile before another trayis shifted, as just described.

J ournaled between the posts P, P, and P are dampers H, having operatingcrank-handles h on the outside of the body B, the extension E, and theroof member R, and these dampers may be set so as to cause the heat,rising from the stove S and passing through the main damper M (which, Ishould have said, has a crank-handle m at one end) to take a tortuous orzigzag course through either or both halves of the device until itfinally escapes through the openings 0 in the roof.

This device is intended to be constructed on a large scale, and, asabove described, is susceptible of enlargement as to its drying andholding capacities by the insertion of one or more extension members E.The trays are successively-filled with the fruit to be dried or.evaporated by placing the same on the wirenetting, and as they arefilled by one operator they are passed through the inlet-door I, thedoor closed and held by its button 2', and the raising-frame operated tolift the tray into the ascendingpile. Theotheroperatonwhostands at therear end of the device, then operates the tripping-handle g to lower aframefrom the descending pile, opens the door X and removes such tray,again closes the door, draws upon the handle W to move the shifter andbring the uppermost tray from the ascending pile over onto thedescending pile, and then turns and removes the dried fruit from thetray which has been withdrawn from the device, packing such fruit insuitable storing-vessels or otherwise disposing of it. During thisoperation the heat rising from the stovehas access to the trays whilethey are ascending, shifting, and descending, and it will be obviousthat the greatest degree of heat strikes the trays last put in and thosenext to be removed, the heat on the shifting trays being the least. Itwill thus be seen that the fruit is subjected to a high degree of heatwhen it is first inserted, gradually-decreasing and thengradually-increasing degrees of heat as it moves through the device, andfinally another high degree of heat just before it is withdrawn. Themain damper M is preferably set so that the first high degree of heatwill be greater than the last, because itis obviously desirable that thefruit receive the most heat when it is in its natural and dampestcondition. g

If the fruit is cut into small pieces before it is dried or evaporated,the ordinary trays will answer; but if larger pieces are to be dried itbecomes necessary to have the side bars t higher from the wire-nettingin order that the fruit upon such netting will not come in cont-act withthe cross-bars i and t of the tray next above. To accomplish this Iprovide the detachable spacingbars Q. (Best seen in Figs. 8 and 9.) Eachof such bars consists of a side bar proper Q, having blocks Q beneathits ends, and secured to said side bar are two L-shaped hooks q, whosefeet q extend inwardly. These spacing-bars are secured'to the side bars25 of each frame by resting the blocks Q thereon at each end andengaging the feet q beneath the said side bars, whereby the spacing-barsare caused to stand above the side bars, as shown. The result is thatthe side bars of each tray are virtually caused to rise higher above thewire-netting, and hence when the fruit is placed on the netting it willnot be struckby the cross-bars of the tray next above.

A device of this character can be cheaply constructed and will be verydurable and efficient in operation. The various dampers I-I may be setso as to deflect the heat in any desired direction across the trays orthrough the netting thereof, and the result will be found mostsatisfactory. Experience may induce me to make considerable change inthe minor details of construction, all of which can be done withoutdeparting from the spirit of the present invention.

What is claimed as new is '1. In a fruit-evaporator, the combination,

with a body and guides within the same, of a damper in the bottom of thebody below said partition, a source of heat having a fine leading t)said damper, dampers across the body in front and rear of said trays andhaving operating crank-handles extending through the body, and a roofmember having heat-outlet openings, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a fruit-evaporator, the combination, with a body having anoutlet-door near its lower end, vertical posts within the body, cut awayopposite said door, and a series of trays resting upon each other andmoving between the sides of the body and between said posts, of boxes onthe sides of the body, communicating with the openings therethrough,rollers journaled in the ends of said boxes, pins through said rollersat right angles to each other and in pairs near the ends of the boxes,rods sliding in guides above said boxes and connected by atripping-handle across the end of the body, and plates carried by saidrods and having converging sides with narrow flat lower ends standingabove the pins on the outer sides of the rollers, those on the innersides extending beneath the side bars of a tray, as and for the purposeset forth.

4. In a fruit-evaporator, the combination, with a body having inlet andoutlet doors, vertical posts within the body, cut away opposite saiddoors, a central partition across the body, a series of trays adapted topass through said doors, means for raising the trays. in a pile in frontof said partition, and means for shifting them from said pile over saidpartition into the other end of the body, of rollers mounted in bearingsopposite openings in the sides of thebody at its rear end, pins throughsaid rollers at angles to each other and in pairs, plates above the pinswhich extend outwardly from said rollers, and means for moving saidplates alternately to engage different pairs of the pins, as and for thepurpose hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL ANDRBHV LATIMER.

Witnesses:

T. F. LooKwooD, 'l. U. GoURLEY.

IIO

